Black Voters Group Files Redistricting Lawsuit

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A group representing black voters has filed a civil rights lawsuit in hopes of changing Maryland’s recently approved congressional map for the next 10 years.

Radamase Cabrera, a spokesman for the Fannie Lou Hamer political action committee, said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt contends the map dilutes the black vote in Maryland. He says the group believes Maryland should have created a third African-American majority voting district in the state.

Alex Mooney, the chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, says the party applauds the lawsuit. Mooney says in a statement that the party joins Fannie Lou Hamer in contending that redistricting should not be done solely on partisan or incumbent preference.